Introduction DHCP is usually associated with obtaining an IP address for a computer however in more recent years, the protocol has allowed clients to request a list of parameters. The client is under no obligation to accept the options and this exchange of information can be done without the IP address of the host computer changing. In other words, using DHCP configuration for PresenTense Time Client will not in any way effect the operation of your network parameters. Option 43 (vendor specific information) is used to deliver the configuration parameters to PresenTense Time Client. The format is BFxx:value: where BFxx is the option number and value is the value you choose to set for that option number. Example Set Option 43 on your DHCP Server as follows: BF39:1:BF22:swisstime.ethz.ch:BF21:ntp2.sp.se:BF4:1:BF35:3 Explanation: BF39 is the reference time source. Setting it at 1 corresponds to NTP4 time server. BF22 is primary time source. In this case it is set to swisstime.ethz.ch which is an NTP server based in Switzerland. BF21 is the secondary time source. In this case, it is set to ntp2.sp.se which is an NTP server based in Stockholm, Sweden. BF4 is to enable logging and is set to 1 which is means logging will be turned on. BF35 is log level. 1 is Minimal, 2 is Detailed and 3 is Errors Only. In this case it is set as Errors Only. Soliciting a response from the correct DHCP server If you have several DHCP servers on your network but the configuration for PresenTense Time Client is only configured on a single server or a selection of them, you can solicit a response from the correct server by setting option 92 to have the hex value FF. This is the former DHCP Server Selection option and although formally retired in the latest standards, you can still set this option. Checking DHCP Server Responses Ensure that logging is turned on and that the log level is set to detailed. Click on the Log Tab and see which entries are present. A successful configuration via DHCP should look similar to the following image. Note that in this case, the blue skin was turned off remotely by the DHCP configuration so the interface has reverted to the standards Windows look and feel.  The error message in the log above saying you may need an update from Microsoft can occur even on systems where an update is not necessary. If your system is working and PresenTense Time Client is receiving a response then ignore this message. If you are having issues and this message is displayed, see Troubleshooting below. PresenTense Time Client will show the options received from the DHCP Server in raw format. In the example above, you can see the options and values and that PresenTense Time Client was successfully configured. Troubleshooting On earlier versions of Windows, the DHCP client did not work properly and Microsoft released updates for the file dhcpcsvc.dll. On some computers this update fails and the file is not updated. Search your disk and see if you find multiple copies of dhcpcsvc.dll. If so, make a backup copy of the one present in your system directory and then copy across the latest one you can find in other locations. This has been known to solve the case in all cases. Please note this is a problem with your operating system rather than PresenTense Time Client. This information is provided as a guide on how to overcome this issue. |